Paul Schrader and Brian De Palma had a falling out nearly 50 years ago when making Obsession and it may never be patched up.
The Movie Brats of the New Hollywood took Hollywood by storm beginning in the late ‘60s, blasting through the studios and marking their territory in modern cinema. Scorsese, Bogdanovich, Ashby, Friedkin, De Palma, Schrader, on and on, made their names during this time. But you don’t get out of an era like that unscathed and even today, some feuds still simmer, like that between Brian De Palma and Paul Schrader, whose collaboration on 1976’s Obsession caused a rift that put an end to one of the could’ve-been perfect pairings of the New Hollywood.
In a recent Facebook post, Schrader was asked if he could ever reconcile with De Palma, to which Schrader replied, “Re: BDP. Not my call.” This would indicate that Schrader is ready to patch things up with his former friend but maybe De Palma isn’t interested. Now, to be fair here, Schrader can be quite opinionated about his fellow Movie Brats and he hasn’t always taken the high road in his relationship with De Palma, going after him a handful of years ago after watching 2007’s Redacted. “Don’t get me started on Brian DP…The script is trite, it is weak. That’s because is Brian is trite, Brian is artistically weak. Skate fast on thin ice. That’s his story. That’s his con.”
De Palma and Schrader had their blow out during the making of Obsession, with the former directing and the latter writing, although both developed the story together. This came about over differences of opinion on the script – especially the ending, which De Palma felt was too long. As such, he broke it down significantly to the point where Schrader removed himself entirely from the production. (The collaboration between himself and Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver that same year went a bit smoother.)
Paul Schrader also posted a photo of himself alongside Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, teasing their reunion at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where both Coppola’s Megalopolis and Schrader’s Oh, Canada are competing for the Palme d’Or, while Lucas will receive an Honorary Palme d’Or.
While De Palma and Schrader are two of the key figures of the New Hollywood revolution and have a permanent link because of it, that they haven’t been on good terms in nearly 50 years really speaks on just how much creative control can play a role in making a movie..and destruction of a partnership. Really, at this point, it’s hard to imagine the two making nice, especially if it falls on De Palma.